BOISE, Idaho — Wil Kirkman has run Rocket Neon for almost 25 years. Inside the workshop, he repairs Neon Signs from all around the region.
- Kirkman has worked on countless projects throughout the years.
- He also does artwork and sells them, outside of his repair business.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Most days of the week, you can find Wil Kirkman in his workshop, putting together pieces of the past.
He runs Rocket Neon, on Myrtle.
He restores old Neon signs from around the region.
"They just bring me a pile of Broken Stuff, and I make it better for them," Kirkman says.
But this wasn't the profession he had planned.
"I was going to be a librarian," Kirkman said. "I was in the corporate world and I hated it. So I answered an ad in the newspaper to learn how to do this at another company. And I never looked back."
After learning the trade, he opened his spot, where he's been for almost 25 years.
As the city around him has changed, his craft has not.
"Not for me," Kirkman says. "A neon worker from 1930 came into my studio, they'd come in and recognize everything. It's all the same, even the tools are the same."
But the demand for his work has, meaning fewer people are making these fixes.
"20 years ago, they all had someone on staff like me, but since LEDs came out there is less call for Neon," Kirkman said.
But with changing trends, the nostalgic nature of neon is making a comeback, still popular around town like his work above Penguilly.
"That's sort of my artistic side of things," Kirkman said.
Most of the neon around the workshop is Kirkman's work, some of which he sells.
Others will stay hanging, as long as he's here.
"Those things I've had them on for almost 20 years," Kirkman said.
In a world where neon isn't as popular as it used to be, he takes pride in knowing his work will stand the test of time.
